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Full bellies and lots of smiles at our Thanksgiving feast last Friday. Thank you to the volunteers and staff that made it possible!

about 5 hours ago

Staff

Lella Carl Hamiter

Executive Director

Lella graduated from Auburn University with a degree in Elementary Education. Lella states that she is one of the lucky people who truly loves her job! She enjoys seeing the children learn the skills they need to be successful in school, as well as hearing feedback from their parents about how great they are doing once they start "big" school.

Years at PreSchool Partners: 22 years

Bry Davis

Program Director

Bry graduated from the University of Mississippi with a degree in Elementary Education and received her Master's Degree in Early Childhood Special Education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She taught at Mitchell's Place for 9 years. Bry loves working to make a difference in young children. Her goal as Program Director is to direct and lead the staff and develop curriculum that provides the skills necessary to achieve school readiness. Bry is excited to be a part of the PreSchool Partners family!

Years at PreSchool Partners: 2 years

Stephanie Pressley

Director of Development

Stephanie graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a degree in Communication Management. She has worked in the Birmingham non-profit community for the last 5 years. Making an impact in the lives of children in the Birmingham community is important to Stephanie, and as the Director of Development, her goal is to ensure that PreSchool Partners has the funding to continue providing quality early education to students no matter what their family’s income level.

Years at PreSchool Partners: 1st year

Loretta Keller

Enrichment Coordinator

Loretta has a degree from the University of Alabama in Communications and has been on staff with PreSchool Partners for 10 years. She has taught in both the 3 and 4 year old programs. Loretta explains that she loves her job and that the best part is watching the progress of the children – they are amazing!

Years at PreSchool Partners: 11 years

Shunnecia Thomas

Office Manager

Shunnecia graduated from Erwin High School and is also a graduate of the PreSchool Partners Parent Program. She loves the preparation and structure that PreSchool Partners provides the students. Shunnecia loved her experience in the Parent Program and has been on staff for over 3 years!

Years at PreSchool Partners: 4 years

Millie Carr

Teacher, Four Year Olds

Millie graduated from Birmingham-Southern College with a degree in elementary education and has worked in the early grades of Birmingham's public schools for twelve years. She loves teaching young children and guiding them through exciting discoveries of the world around them. She is looking forward to working with the excellent staff of PreSchool Partners, the students, and their families!

Years at PreSchool Partners: 4 years

Mary Dorough

Teacher, Four Year Olds

Mary graduated from UAB with a degree in Elementary Education. She taught second grade for 30 years at Crestline Elementary School in Mountain Brook. She is extremely excited about working with precious four year olds and watching them learn and grow and is thrilled to be a part of PreSchool Partners.

Years at PreSchool Partners: 1st year

Meg Meadows

Teacher, Four Year Olds

Meg graduated from Auburn University with a degree in Speech Pathology. She was a Speech Pathologist for 6 years at Hewitt Elementary and has 12 years experience teaching preschool. Meg says it’s truly rewarding watching children grow and learn throughout the year. She is so excited to be a part of the PreSchool Partners team!

Years at PreSchool Partners: 3 years

Drue Miller

Teacher, Four Year Olds

Drue graduated from Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. She has teaching experience with two year olds, as well as having taught fifth grade at St. Pius X School in Mobile. Drue enjoys teaching at the preschool level and is very excited about the opportunity to spend time helping children at PreSchool Partners succeed in their educational experience.

Years at PreSchool Partners: 3 years

Leslie Price

Teacher, Four Year Olds

Leslie graduated from the University of Alabama with a B.S. and M.A. in Early Childhood Education. She previously taught first and second grades in both public and private schools. Leslie is thrilled to be a part of the PreSchool Partners family and hopes to use her background and experience in helping children become the best they can be.

Years at PreSchool Partners: 5 years

April Wittmann

Teacher, Four Year Olds

April graduated from Texas Tech University with a BS in Early Childhood Education and a MEd in Language and Literacy. She has taught at both public and private schools in pre-k, first, and second grades. She also teaches yoga and a variety of other fitness classes at the YMCA. She is thrilled to be a part of the PreSchool Partners family.

Years at PreSchool Partners: 1st year

Sarah Crabb

Teacher, Three Year Olds

Sarah graduated from the University of Alabama with a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education. She taught 3rd-5th grade for four years before joining PreSchool Partners. She is so excited to be working with younger children and teaching preschool! She is passionate about teaching and seeing the children’s success and growth throughout the year. Sarah is thankful to be part of PreSchool Partners!

Years at PreSchool Partners: 2 years

Annie Elliott

Teacher, Three Year Olds

Anne earned her Bachelor's Degree at the University of Alabama in Early Childhood Development and then continued on to UAB to get her Master's in Elementary Education. Prior to being at PreSchool Partners, she worked at Highlands School for five years. She is currently continuing her education at Montevallo in counseling and is excited to be a part of the PreSchool Partners family!

Years at PreSchool Partners: 1st year

Sue McArthur

Teacher, Three Year Olds

Sue graduated from Southern Methodist University with a bachelors degree in elementary education and went on to receive a masters in Library Information Studies from Alabama. She has taught preschool and elementary school for over 30 years with Birmingham City Schools. Sue feels very fortunate to be a part of Preschool Partners and is looking forward to preparing the students for kindergarten and becoming life long learners.

Years at PreSchool Partners: 3 years

Beth Neal

Teacher, Three Year Olds

Beth graduated from Clemson University and earned a teaching degree in early childhood education. Beth says she loves PreSchool Partners because of the parental involvement and she feels like we are truly making a difference! It makes her happy to come to work.

Years at PreSchool Partners: 10 years

Taylor Anne Straughn

Teacher, Three Year Olds

Taylor Anne graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in Human Development. She is currently working towards a Masters degree in school counseling at the University of Alabama at Birmingham because she loves empowering students in all areas of their life. This year she looks forward to building warm and supportive relations with each of her students at PreSchool Partners as well as their parents!

Years at PreSchool Partners: 1st year

Catherine Trulock

Teacher, Three Year Olds

Catherine has a degree in Elementary Education from the University of South Alabama and a Masters degree from UAB. She taught for 28 years in the Birmingham City Schools as a 1st and 2nd grade teacher, a Reading Recovery teacher and a Reading Coach. After retiring, Catherine began teaching 3 and 4 year olds and is excited to be a part of the PreSchool Partners team! She loves children and hopes to make a positive difference in the live of each child she meets.

Years at PreSchool Partners: 2 years

Diane Curry

Teacher, Two Year Olds

Diane has a Child Development Associate Degree from Lawson State and has been in early childhood education for over 20 years. Diane enjoys teaching children and seeing how their eyes light up when they achieve their goals. Diane believes that children are the most precious gifts in the world and it's a blessing to have the opportunity to teach them.

Years at PreSchool Partners: 11 years

Gwen Mizzell

Teacher, Two Year Olds

Gwen received her degree in education from Auburn University and her master’s degree in education from UAB. She has 25 years of teaching experience at Norwood Elementary School, one of PreSchool Partners’ target schools. Gwen loves working with children and seeing their success in learning.

Years at PreSchool Partners: 5 years

Annie Taylor

Teacher, Two Year Olds

Annie attended the University of Alabama and is working towards a degree in early childhood education. She taught the two-year-old class at St. Ignatius Catholic School in Mobile before moving to Birmingham. Annie has a strong passion for teaching children and can’t wait to watch the children at PreSchool Partners grow!

Years at PreSchool Partners: 2 years

Pam Winston

Floater

Pam graduated from West End High School and attends Lawson State Community College, working towards her Child Development Associate degree. She chose Early Childhood Development because she loves working with children. Pam loves every facet of PreSchool Partners.

Years at PreSchool Partners: 11 years

Neoki Gaiter

After School Care Teacher

Neoki has a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and Criminal Justice from Miles College. She has worked with children from preschool age through high school. Neoki’s favorite thing about working at PreSchool Partners is planning fun activities for the children to enjoy after school.

Years at PreSchool Partners: 1 year

Cindy Moore

After School Care

Cindy is an art major who has used her degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design in various positions over the years. She has worked in schools where she shared her creativity in their after-school programs and previously taught a three year old class at PreSchool Partners in 2006. She is thrilled to return to PreSchool Partners and share her afternoons with our adorable children.

Years at PreSchool Partners: 1st year

Savannah Owen

After School Care

Savannah graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is an assistant art teacher at St. Luke's Day School. Savannah finds teaching children to be an extremely rewarding experience and enjoys seeing them learn and grow.

Years at PreSchool Partners: 2nd year

Hayley Young

Speech Therapist

Hayley graduated from Auburn University with a degree in Communication Disorders. She went on to receive her Master's Degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Montevallo. She loves to watch the progress that the children make in our program and is grateful to be a part of the PreSchool Partners family.

Years at PreSchool Partners: 7 years

Greg Tarrant

Security Guard

Greg graduated from Ensley High School and joined the US Army and served in the Military Police. He then went to Lawson State and graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice. Greg has worked in security for over 16 years. Mr. Greg’s favorite part about working at PreSchool Partners is working with the kids and interacting with their parents.